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School Hard
" " is the third episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer television show, and the fifteenth episode in the series. Written by Joss Whedon and David Greenwalt, and directed by John T. Kretchmer, it was originally broadcast on September 29, 1997 on The WB network. Synopsis PARENTS IN THE NIGHT — When parent-teacher night is interrupted by uninvited guests, Buffy must protect her fellow students, the principal and her mother while keeping her secret. Meanwhile, Angel's old friends, Spike and Drusilla visit Sunnydale for The Night of Saint Vigeous — the holy night of attack."The Mortuary". Buffy The Vampire Slayer. Archived from the original June 9, 2001. Retrieved May 2, 2019. Summary Buffy has found herself and Sheila Martini in Principal Snyder's office. He has decided that the two girls will prepare the school lounge for parent-teacher night on Thursday telling them that whoever does the better job will not be expelled. He also notes that doing a good job may affect what he tells their parents towards the positive. Sheila's continued unconcern puts even more pressure on Buffy, who already has a tough time balancing slaying with a social life. Joyce warns Buffy later that if she gets a bad report then she won't be allowed to spend time with her friends. That night, a new vampire by the name of Spike arrives in Sunnydale, knocking down the city's welcome sign. In the abandoned factory that is now their lair, the Anointed One has called together the few remaining members of the Order of Aurelius. With the Master dead and all hope of resurrecting him gone, they are now discussing who will serve alongside the Anointed One. As the following Saturday is the Night of Saint Vigeous when a vampire's power is at its peak, it is agreed that whoever kills the Slayer will take the Master's place. As one vampire boasts of his prowess, Spike saunters in and puts him in his place. Spike then offers to kill Buffy for the Anointed One, revealing that he's already killed two Slayers. Suddenly Drusilla, Spike's paramour who has psychic abilities and is more than a little insane, arrives and begins to babble about what Buffy is doing and begs Spike to kill her. The Anointed One agrees to let Spike try. While the Scoobies are busy preparing for Parents' Night, Giles and Jenny show up to inform Buffy that Saturday will be the Night of Saint Vigeous, named after the leader of a vampire crusade, and that during that night the natural abilities of vampires will be enhanced. Buffy is unimpressed. Buffy tries to combine school and social life by studying French at the Bronze. Spike is there, too, and sends one of the Anointed One's minions to attack someone, then prompts Buffy to fight and slay the vampire while Spike watches. Spike then steps out of the shadows and tells her that he will kill her on Saturday. He later bumps into Sheila, who is enthralled by his bad boy charm. Giles does not recognize Spike from Buffy's description. Angel walks in on the meeting and tells them that Spike is a large problem, and then leaves. Later, Giles finds a reference to Spike as "William the Bloody", and discovers that he has indeed killed two Slayers already and that the "Spike" moniker came from his custom of torturing his victims with railroad spikes. Spike and Drusilla settle into their new home, with Drusilla unpacking her collection of dolls. It soon emerges that Drusilla is ill following an altercation with an angry mob in Prague. Spike is hopeful that being so close to the Hellmouth will heal her and encourages her to eat something, indicating the bound Sheila. Drusilla warns Spike that the Anointed One and his followers don't trust him, then sends him up to the surface to feed as she feasts on Sheila. On Thursday night, the Scoobies are making weapons in the library while Buffy is preparing the buffet. Despite Buffy's best efforts to keep her mother from meeting any teachers or Principal Snyder, Joyce eventually meets the Principal, and then she sternly orders Buffy home just as Spike and the other vampires crash through the window, too impatient to wait for Saturday. In the ensuing fight, Buffy leads the adults to safety in the science room while Xander, Giles, and Ms. Calendar barricade themselves in the library. Willow and Cordelia hide in a utility closet. Xander is sent out to get Angel. Buffy takes command of the incredulous adults, telling them to stay put as she climbs through the air ducts to reach the library and her weapons. Xander returns to the school with Angel, who pretends to be his former evil self. Though Spike first welcomes Angel as a long-lost friend, he sees through the ruse and Xander and Angel are forced to flee. Xander hears Spike call Angel his "sire" and "Yoda." Buffy and Spike finally meet in the hall, and Buffy is almost bested when her mother shows up and hits Spike over the head with the flat of a fire axe. With the curse "Women!", he retreats. Joyce tells Buffy that she doesn't care about what Snyder said and is proud to have a daughter who knows how to take care of herself and others in a crisis. Snyder tells the police chief to say that the trouble was caused by a gang on PCP. When the chief wonders if people will believe it, Snyder asks if he'd rather tell the truth. Meanwhile, not knowing the vampires are long gone, Willow and Cordelia are still hiding out in the utility closet where Cordelia prays to God to be rescued, while Willow is desperate to be rescued from her company. Spike returns to the factory and meets with Drusilla, telling her that he's never encountered a Slayer with friends or family but still promises to kill her soon. He then approaches the Anointed One who demands penance for attacking too early. After starting to go through the motions, Spike decides that he won't reduce himself to grovelling for forgiveness from a kid and instead throws the boy in a cage and pulls it into the sun, killing him. From now on, he says, there will be less ritual and more fun in Sunnydale. Continuity *This episode is the first appearance of Spike, who will figure heavily both in this series and the final season of Angel. The episode also marks the first appearance of Drusilla, who was also a constant threat and influence in both series. *Spike calls Angel his sire; in "Fool for Love", it's revealed that Drusilla who sired him, but Angel who would become his mentor, as seen in "Destiny". *In this episode Spike seems quite happy to see Angel, although they have had a very rocky relationship even when Angel had no soul. This animosity will remain through both the Buffy and Angel series. *This episode establishes that Principal Snyder and the police are aware that there are supernatural happenings in Sunnydale. This foreshadows the development of Mayor Richard Wilkins as the Big Bad of season 3. *At the end of the episode, Spike complains about "A Slayer with family and friends." Buffy's rejection of the typical "lone wolf" style of Slaying will come up frequently in the series, usually in the context of people questioning her competence ("Restless", "Checkpoint"). *This is the first episode to reveal that Buffy's mother's name is Joyce. *Spike tells Buffy that the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. In episode "Damage", the deranged Slayer Dana repeats Nikki's plea: "Please, I have to get home to my son Robin." *Joyce and Snyder meet for the first time in this episode, developing their mutual disdain into season 3. *Spike's rather dramatic arrival in Sunnydale (running over the "Welcome to Sunnydale" sign) is later recreated in "Lovers Walk", the only difference him being drunk. He makes the sign fall for one last time in "Chosen". *This episode marks the first time a vampire, the Anointed One, is killed by immolation in sunlight, though it occurs off screen. It will occur on screen for the first time in "Becoming, Part One". *The yo-yo Xander pulls out of Buffy's purse is the same one she was playing with in the beginning of "Some Assembly Required". *In this episode we have Cordelia joining the other characters making stakes in the library without any specific backstory as to why she is there, marking her as a full Scooby for the first time. *This episode established that Spike killed two Slayers, an exception among vampires. Later, Drusilla will achieve this status by killing Kendra ("Becoming, Part One") and Marianne (Family Reunion, Part Four). *When Sheila asks Buffy if she really burnt down a building one time, Buffy replies "Not exactly one time," referencing the events of The Origin, Part Three and "Some Assembly Required". *Drusilla and Spike being attacked by an angry mob in Prague and her weakening is shown in the story The Problem with Vampires. Appearances Individuals *Angel *Lean Boy *Collin *Jennifer Calendar *Cordelia Chase *Drusilla *Rupert Giles *Alexander Harris *Brian Kirsh *Sheila Martini *Bob Munroe *Willow Rosenberg *Saint Vigeous *Snyder *Spike *Buffy Summers *Joyce Summers *Nikki Wood *Big Ugly Organizations and titles *Anointed One *Nickel *Order of Aurelius *Scooby Gang *Slayer *Sunnydale Police Department *Watcher Species *Human *Vampire Events *Night of Saint Vigeous Locations *Prague, Czech Republic *Sunnydale, United States **1630 Revello Drive **Bric & Broc **Bronze **The Fish Tank **Sunnydale High School ***Sunnydale High School library **Sunnydale Park Weapons and objects *3HUJ259 *Miss Edith *Stake Death count *"Big Ugly", dusted by Buffy Summers outside the Bronze. *Dwayne and Dell, killed by Spike outside The Fish Tank. *Sheila Martini, sired by Drusilla. *Brian Kirsh, neck snapped by Spike. *An unidentified parent, killed by raiding vampires at the school lawn. *An unidentified vampire, staked by Buffy in the hallway outside the science room. *An unidentified vampire, staked while fighting Buffy. *The Anointed One, caged and exposed to the sunlight by Spike. Behind the scenes Production *The title and some plot elements of this episode are reminiscent of the action film Die Hard. *Show creators have stated in interviews included on the DVDs that Spike kills the Anointed One in this episode because Andrew J. Ferchland, who plays the Anointed One, had grown significantly over the summer hiatus, which contradicted the established doctrine that vampires do not age. Because of Ferchland's growth spurt, he remains seated for most of his scenes in season two. *Spike pronounces Angel's vampire name "AN-ge-lus" (similar to the pronunciation of the city of Los Angeles); throughout the remainder of the series, the pronunciation "an-GE-lus" is more often used. Broadcast *"School Hard" had an audience of 3.4 million households. Deleted scenes *Spike's line was cut from the original script for length:"The Watcher's Guide, Volume One" :Spike: "Would it kill ya, a little mouthwash every couple hundred years?" *Xander's line was cut from the original script for length: :Xander: "The important thing in punch is the ratio of vodka to schnapps.... That was obviously far too sophisticated a joke for this crowd." *An exchange between Buffy and Giles was cut from the original script for length: :Buffy: "I don't suppose this is something about happy squirrels?" :Giles: "Vampires." :Buffy: "That was my next guess." Pop culture references *Spike mentions having attended the musical festival Woodstock (August 15–17, 1969). *Willow wears a Scooby-Doo shirt at the PTA night. *Giles comments that the name Spike is "a little unorthodox" for a vampire, to which Buffy replies: "maybe he's Reform," a word play on Judaism branches. *Spike calls Angel an "Uncle Tom," a term that refers to a black person who is overly submissive towards a white person. *Spike compares Angel's role with of the fictional character Yoda, in reference to him proving guidance and training. Goofs, bloopers & continuity errors *When Cordelia is talking to Buffy the position in which her arms are change significantly throughout the scene. *Buffy turning her head when Big Ugly says "Spike, give me a hand" and her turning her head when Spike starts clapping are the same exact shot used twice. International titles *'Armenian:' "Ուսուցման դժվարությունները" (Learning Difficulties) *'Czech:' "Školní trable" (School Troubles) *'Finnish:' "Kovaa Koulua" (Tough School) *'French:' "Attaque à Sunnydale" (Attack in Sunnydale) *'German:' "Elternabend mit Hindernissen" (Parent-Teacher Conference with Obstacles) *'Hungarian:' "Kemény iskola" (Tough School) *'Polish:' "Twarda szkoła" (School Hard) *'Portuguese (Brazil):' "A Escola da Pesada" (The School of Tough) *'Romanian:' "Școală din plin" (School Full) *'Russian:' "Трудности учёбы" (Learning Difficulties) *'Spanish (Latin America):' "Terror en el Instituto" (Terror at School) *'Spanish (Spain):' "Santrictos" Music *Nickel — "1000 Nights" (Plays as Willow tutors Buffy at the Bronze) *Nickel — "Stupid Thing" (Plays as the Scoobies dance) *Shawn Clement and Sean Murray — original score Other *This episode is included in The Slayer Collection: Spike DVD. Gallery Photos School Hard Buffy Spike 02.jpg School Hard Buffy Spike 01.jpg School Hard Willow Buffy.jpg 203.jpeg 2x03 005.jpg 063a1328b1 41506734 o2.jpg 2x03 007.jpg 2x03 008.jpg Buffy school hard episode still.jpg Buffy school hard episode still 2.jpg Advertisement School Hard promo.jpg|"For centuries, his reign of terror has spanned continents. Next stop, Sunnydale." Quotes References de:Elternabend mit Hindernissen es:Terror en el instituto fr:Attaque à Sunnydale nl:School Hard Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes Category:Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 2